Principal Financial Group Inc. Purchases 14,067 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 1.9% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 770,529 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 14,067 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $229,418,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.9% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,874,347 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,448,570,000 after acquiring an additional 88,806 shares during the last quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC lifted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 4.2% in the 2nd quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 3,062,859 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $790,371,000 after purchasing an additional 122,676 shares during the period. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC boosted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 29,954.1% during the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 2,894,211 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $861,722,000 after purchasing an additional 2,884,581 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 127.3% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,792,470 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $720,597,000 after purchasing an additional 1,564,169 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James & Associates increased its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.7% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,043,099 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $608,312,000 after purchasing an additional 33,313 shares in the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on APD. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $350.00 to $345.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 8th. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $330.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $305.00 to $365.00 in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $345.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Air Products and Chemicals currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $331.53.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

Air Products and Chemicals stock opened at $293.17 on Friday. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 52 week low of $212.24 and a 52 week high of $337.00. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $319.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $290.77. The stock has a market cap of $65.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.06, a P/E/G ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Air Products and Chemicals Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be given a $1.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.41%. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.21%.

Air Products and Chemicals Profile

Air Products and Chemicals, Inc provides atmospheric gases, process and specialty gases, equipment, and related services in the Americas, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, India, and internationally. The company produces atmospheric gases, including oxygen, nitrogen, and argon; process gases, such as hydrogen, helium, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, and syngas; and specialty gases for customers in various industries, including refining, chemical, manufacturing, electronics, energy production, medical, food, and metals.